Chris, I enjoyed the PCC the last time I visited them about 5 years ago. The grounds are just beautiful - tikis, huts, etc everywhere. There's a boat parade, a few stage shows and a dinner/luau which is pretty enjoyable. I also got to watch The Living Sea in their IMAX theatre, which was incredible.

One thing -- it was an all day affair. Our bus left Waikiki in the morning and didn't return until around 10pm, so you'll have to plan accordingly.

And like other attractions here on the mainland (Universal Studios, Sea World, etc), once you've seen it, you're good for at least 5 years since it doesn't really change.

If you post on TC, you are basically a Tiki Junkie,and, the Polynesian Cultural Center is a Tiki Dream. I can not imagine anyone who posts on this board not enjoying this one of a kind, Polynesian paradise. There are down sides, it is a costly, touristy all day affair. When visiting Oahu the case can be made it would be better to spend a day doing something (anything) else, than visiting the PCC. I think for a true Tiki Fiend the PCC is a must see, I very much enjoyed it.

The PCC is a Mormon run, Cultural showcase. It is setup something like Disneyland in that there are various areas. Instead of Fantasyland, Adventureland, etc, there are Fiji, the Marquesans, etc. Each Island chain is represented in art, dance, history, dress, etc. There are Tikis everywhere. There is more than enough activities to fill a day. I recommend the "big" show at the end of the day, but, if hula isn't your thing you could avoid it.
Fiji, each area has authentic structures and native islanders.
There is a river that has a native dance show. Each boat represents an Island and the dancers are dressed and dance in that Islands style.

Despite the connection with the Mormons (no offense to anyone I hope, but the whole history of the missionaries trying to convert the Polynesians made me wary of visiting this place), it's well worth the admission cost. The daytime shows in each island area were entertaining and in many cases the audience gets involved which can be fun. The boat parade was great - don't miss it. The luau was OK but there are better ones on Oahu. But the best part for me was the show at night. The backdrop was amazing with a huge volcano, large tikis, and tiki torches. The Samoan fire dancers perormance was incredible. The show is much more than simply Hula dancing so don't miss it!

It's a fairly long but pleasant drive from Oahu and it often is wet on that side of the island so expect afternoon showers (which are never unpleasant as it's always warm).
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Mrs. Hansell and I went there on our honeymoon about 6 years ago, we had a blast. Like anything on Oahu, you have your "expensive activities" and your "expensive for Oahu activities". I think this just falls into the expensive, but totally worth it catagory. We splurged and bought a personalized tiki from a carver there. Is it a one of a kind art treasure? No, but I still smile when I see it on the shelf and remember my beautiful bride and a bunch of other white girls trying to learn how to hula....

Germaine's and Paradise Cove luaus are the 2 main ones on Oahu. Germaine's ($49,http://www.oahu-hawaii-luau.com/) is a smaller luau, while Paradise Cove ($60, http://www.paradisecove.com/) might have 500 or more people there any given night. Both include bus trasportation from Waikiki to the sites in the price. The differences between them and the one at the PCH are:

They are at oceanfront locations during sunset while the one at PCH is just in a large lawn area next to a building. I was disappointed with the luau setting at PCH.

Alcoholic beverages are not served at PCH and are at the other luaus (both include 3 Mai Tais or other alcholic drinks in the price).

The entertainment at the PCH luau was pretty basic (compared to the main show which was great), but the other luaus have a full show including fire dancers.

I have not been to the other luaus so I can't vouch for them and can't compare the food to the food at the PCH which was OK but nothing special. Actually, the best luau buffet food I've had was at the luau buffet in Las Vegas at the Fiesta casino on Monday nights. The Las Vegas newspaper had an article on it recently:

Quote:

The menu is overseen by executive chef Harris Okashige, a native Hawaiian, who says the 20 or so dishes are replicas of the favorites he grew up with on the islands. The seafood includes ahi tuna, crab and moonfish, and is flown in Monday mornings. The casino also imports handmade lau lau, which is spinach wrapped with pork, butterfish and chicken.
Menu items also include lomi lomi (a cold salad with diced salmon, tomatoes and green onions) and taco poki (raw seafood such as squid, tuna or crab marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and garlic, and served cold). There is also Portuguese bean soup, ono yams and shrimp onohui (fried battered shrimp with coconut). The pork, Okashige adds, is first wrapped in ti leaves before it's roasted, then shredded and mixed with cabbage, much the same way they prepare it on the islands.

According to several travel books the best luaus are the Old Lahaina Luau on Maui and the Kona Village luau on Hawaii but I have not tried these personally.
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The Luau at the Royal Hawaiian is very nice. It's not as cheezy and touristy as the rest. The food is good and the you can't beat the Royal for a setting. Of course, you can watch the show and save a few $$ if you just get there early and grab a seat at the Mai Tai bar which is right next to the lawn where the luau is.
For tourist cheese and fun, the Paradise Cove Luau is the way to go!
Aloha,

On 2003-12-26 12:51, Johnny Dollar wrote:i went to the Old Lahaina Luau on Maui in '99. the setting and show were spectacular and devoid of cheeziness. the food was fair to good. the drinks were watery and left alot to be desired.

I'm not surprised. The Mai Tais in Hawaii were usually pretty bad, with the exception of the ones at the Banyan Tree bar at the New Otani Hotel and the House Without a Key bar, both in Waikiki.
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Ben and I only had a few hours to spare, so we got the less expensive package for the PCC. It was fantastic. I love anthropolgy and folk arts, so this was a great place for me. The lay-out is Polynesia divided by country, so it's extremely interesting to see the variation within the group. thumbs up!
hey...it sound like you got a trip to Hawai'i coming up.

As said, the PCC is a must see. But don't make the mistake we made, make sure you get there at opening and spend the whole day. The daytime shows are timed so that you can catch everything if you spend one hour at each island themed area and that pretty much means you have to be there at opening time. You'll have a great time and actually learn quite a bit. The people who work at the PCC are very warm and friendly (as evidenced in the photo above!) and seem to have a genuine interest in teaching you about their culture. The main guy who performs in the Samoan fire dance (forgot his name) should be an international star. The guy is an awesome performer and in his day shows is funny as hell. I thought of him as a Samoan Jaimie Fox/Jackie Chan cross. Get him to show you the bottom of his feet after the fire dance. We skipped the luau and wandered the grounds in the dark with all the feral cats and giant toads and then used the luau money to upgrade our seats for the show which was well worth it.

If you want to look for some collectibles while on Oahu make sure you hit "The Hunter" antique store in Kailua. Great stuff at great prices.